Category Archives: Local

Make Me Feel Important

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A good friend recently had her second child and instead of a baby shower, she had a small gathering where guests shared stories and our wishes for her journey through birth and into becoming a mother of two children.  It was refreshing to be a part of an intentional conversation that created space to tell a loved one how I feel about her.  People were shy at first but the group warmed up quickly and it felt great.

I was at a corporate event last night and 10 speakers took to the stage to share parts of their personal lives with their colleagues.  It was so cool.  Everyone spoke on different topics but the common thread was that they all spoke about what they really cared about.  Again, it was so refreshing to be a part of a conversation that was positive and personal.

I met a brilliant CEO last week who talked about how it’s easy to find people to work for her because she looks for people who lead with their hearts.  How awesome is that?  And how refreshing to learn that a business executive makes hiring decisions that way.

Thinking about these three moments, I realized that they were refreshing because they’re rare.  In our device-equipped society, we spend so much time computing, commuting, and snoozing that there’s not a lot of time left for real connections.  Don’t get me wrong, I love blogs and read a bunch regularly.  And lots of them are very personal.  But unless you know the person writing, it’s just not the same damn thing as talking face-to-face.  And I mean really talking.  Having lean-in moments that you find yourself thinking about for days afterward.   And maybe telling other friends about too.

So why is it rare?  Well, for one thing you need to be present to have those magical moments.  And it’s kind of tiring to be present all the time.  Especially when there’s so much good stuff around us to help us tune-out.  You have to work at it and be open to whatever comes your way.  Which means there’s a degree of vulnerability that comes with being real.  Like, you might say or do something silly and then feel silly then people will think you’re silly and you’ll wish you had of just been cool like The Fonz and didn’t say or do anything in the first place.  But I think The Fonz was as unsure as the rest of us and he needed love too.  Not just ladies, but real love.  Plus, he was just pretend anyway.

It’s so easy to slip into our same old soundtrack of negativity and self-doubt.  And it’s easy to be a part of gossip and useless sharing.  But there comes a point when that’s just way too boring for our spirits and those rare moments become the norm.  There’s nothing like a personal connection and as Claudia Garcia so beautifully says: “pretend that everyone you meet has a sign around their neck that says ‘make me feel important’”.  Then the potential to make those connections is limitless.  Love it – thanks cgg!

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Masthead photo from Franck Mahon’s photostream on Flickr

Whitecaps FC Community Asset Review – Part 3

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Editors’ note: Kurt and John are firm believers that Vancouver can and should be the Canadian epicenter for growing the sport and culture of soccer football soccer. This is a self-described healthy community. We can play outside year-round, as fields are rarely closed due to snow and/or freezing. And, most importantly, Vancouver is the place to expertly develop the sport of soccer because our city’s team, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, shares this goal and so demonstrates this vision through its Club Structure and the Whitecaps Foundation, which aims to create the fittest generation of BC Youth by 2020.

As Vancouver Whitecaps FC season ticket holders, Kurt and John are well-positioned to evaluate how the franchise showcases its commitment to “be a significant community asset” – so, following every match we will reflect on this commitment by answering two questions, which are below. Sometimes we bring friends and/or family-members to the game. And sometimes those awesome friends and/or family-members write awesome blog posts about the experience.

Here is our brand-new (and youngest) Correspondent, Josie Buter’s, take on Vancouver Whitecaps FC being a significant community asset.

Josie Buter - current and future world changer

How is the team a significant community asset?

The Whitecaps FC games bring people together, for example I went to the game against Kansas City and before the game I got to take part in a parade to the stadium with the Southsiders. They had chants and giant flags with the players’ faces on them, some people knew the chants and others didn’t, but it didn’t matter because you could still clap along to the rhythm of the drums they brought with them. The cheering didn’t stop outside the stadium though, throughout the whole game there were ringleaders that lead all the cheers. The whole experience was very exciting and I’ve never experienced anything quite like it before.

WHAT COULD MAKE THE CLUB AN EVEN BETTER ASSET?

Now that the men’s team has success in a higher level of soccer, where are the women? When I was younger I went to many of the women’s Whitecaps games and looked up to the players on the team, they were role models for me. For young girls it’s important to have role models, and when playing soccer it is good to have a picture in your head of what a player who plays your position or plays on a competitive team looks like. Having a local team, that would play all year ‘round would give many young soccer players hope that they can achieve their goals as well, no matter the size of the net.

Claudia Garcia – Soulfully Photographic

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Who are you?

Claudia, a.k.a. “cgg”. Mother, photographer. Born in Montevideo, Uruguay & exiled to Canada in 1977.  My parents arrived with $450 in their pocket, 2 suit cases & 2 young children under the age of 7.  Through hard work, they were able to provide us with a happy home and education.  I have learned so much from all of their sacrifices.  Although I have lived most of my life in Canada, my roots and that “pull” to my culture has always been very much alive & raw inside me. This has inspired me to raise my girls as little Uruguayan Canadians. I only speak Spanish to them.  Spanish books and music are a big part of our lives. Thanks to YouTube we can watch different cultural events that happen in Montevideo, such as the yearly Carnival and various festivals and Skype keeps us connected to our family.  My husband (being East Van born and raised) has embraced this and has learned a lot of Spanish along the way. It is fascinating to watch our 2 ½ year old switch back and forth between Spanish & English depending on which parent she is talking to.

What do you do for fun?

Photography.  I love it.  When I was just a kid, I was fascinated with my father’s camera and would get in so much trouble if I touched it, but I didn’t care – I just HAD to hold it and sneak in a few pictures.  Those were the film days when film and processing was expensive.  At 14, I finally got my own camera and did black & white dark room photography for 5 years.  I have lugged my camera all over Cuba, Jamaica, North & South America through my travels. I love to document life – people working, people having fun.  I also have a thing for buildings.

What is your favourite community? Why?

My favourite community is the one we are submerged into right now.  We moved to the TriCities last year and our children attend a Parent Participation Preschool which is just amazing.  The group of families that run the preschool really walk-the-walk.  When one of the teacher’s husbands broke his leg, everyone got together and cooked up a storm and delivered meals to the family.  We put on a successful coats & toy drive this winter for our local food bank. The fund raising committee that I am part of has done a great job in raising the money that will keep the school up and running for next year.  Next month we are holding a big fair which will give back to the local community with bouncy castles, pony rides, and entertainment, all for a very nominal cost.  Thanks to this community and preschool, our children are in a positive play-based environment and it gives you the warm and fuzzies to watch them discover, thrive and gather confidence.

What is your superpower? People look at me and tell me stuff.  My skin must emit some kind of “truth serum” pheromone or something.  I am like the bartender in all the movies that you see working behind the counter and people come and sit down, order a drink and then tell them things their best friend doesn’t even know.

How do you use it to build community? Of course, this new discovered truth that people share now comes with a sense of responsibility because people often want words of wisdom.  This superpower helps me to build community one person at a time.  Someone once said “pretend that everyone you meet has a sign around their neck that says ‘make me feel important’”.  Every person is different, but fundamentally, people just want to feel accepted and we also want to feel hope.  By listening, it gives them permission to feel vulnerable which is very powerful.

My Three Favourite Things About cgg Are…

1. She’s Really, Really Nice. To make a long story short, Claudia played a very big role in getting my career to where it is today – when an opportunity came up at UBC’s Sauder School of Business it was with Claudia’s recommendation that I made it to (and through) the interview process and into the role. To this day, I am both incredibly grateful and also very much in her debt. Thanks, Claudia!

2. Photographic Awesomeness. Claudia has a wonderful eye that spectacularly captures the soul of people and places (see awesome photos of Uruguay). She’s creative, poetic, cool, and super-classy when it comes to the pictures she snaps, sure, but especially through how she presents her work – a knack for powerful storytelling is reflected by Claudia’s words and images above. Even through a lens people seem to tell her things! Oh, and any great photographer must have a strong entrepreneurial spirit, which totally shines through in cgg’s story of how her family grew a happy and healthy life in Canada while staying connected to their roots in Uruguay.

3. Intercultural Community Building. The fact that Claudia’s toddler can flip back and forth between Spanish and English – depending on the parental audience – will serve the child/children well in our hyper-globalized world. I love cgg’s stories about using technology (YouTube and Skype) to maintain a healthy cultural connection between the national/local communities of Uruguay and Montevideo as well as the very important connection to family.

Special Bonus Reason! URUGUAY! I love Uruguay. So does Michelle. We wrote about Montevideo a lot during our month in South America and, well, I can simply say that Montevideo is on of my “favourites” list of global cities. One of the reasons that we had such a great time is because Claudia gave me some great insider tips – because, like I said, she’s really, really nice!

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All photos courtesy of the lovely and talented Glaudia Garcia aka cgg.

Vancouver Port Boat Tours Part #1.

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I recently started a new job working with Port Metro Vancouver. For anyone who knows me, they’d know that working for a Port is pretty much my dream. And so far, that wouldn’t be far off. Other than a cool working environment, interesting people and snazzy offices, there’s the added perk of getting up close and personal to port operations. In the last three weeks I’ve been invited out on the Port’s patrol vessels for tours of both Burrard Inlet and operations on the Fraser River. Seeing the Port in action from the water is really impressive. Here are some pics from my most recent adventure today on the Fraser River, showing a more humble side of the port (Massive Auto carrier aside.)

FRASER RIVER

This is a view back toward New Westminster from earlier today. Port operations along the Fraser River are some of the biggest in terms of surface area on the North American West Coast. Log volumes along the river are booming recently with pine beetle lumber being snapped up in Asia like it’s out of style. In the background here are several mid-sized gantry cranes used for moving anything from steel, lumber, heavy machinery and pallets of lumber on and off of ships.

ROLL ON –  ROLL OFF

The Fraser River is the main terminus for all Asian import vehicles into Canada. This Vessel is docked at WWL Vehicle Services Ltd. Which handles on average over 250,000 new cars a year. This weird Roll on Roll off vessell or “RoRo” can carry up to 6,500 cars. Today it was unloading mostly Mazdas and Nissans.

TUGS!

These little guys make it all happen. Whether in Burrrard inlet flanking super tankers or in the Fraser hauling barge after barge of dredged sand, Tugboats are the workhorses keeping the Port chugging along.  We were lucky to get up close to this one.

Stay tuned for my next post with pics from Burrard Inlet. Massive conatiner ships galore!

The Next Generation of Sustainability

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Koerner Library (NOT CIRS) at UBC / Spicks & Specks on Flickr

Sustainability: the Next Generation. That’s what will be on the agenda at UBC’s Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) on Saturday, May 26. If you are passionate about building and maintaining sustainable communities then I highly recommend you check out this opportunity for provocative dialogue within North America’s greenest building.

Here’s the pitch:

What if there was a new way of approaching sustainability? What if the old environmental agenda of doing things “less bad”—using less energy, taking shorter showers, sacrificing our Western lifestyle—wasn’t the best way forward? What if instead we built buildings and neighbourhoods that actually contributed to the wellbeing of the planet and those that live on it?

Explore these provocative ideas with a leading UBC researcher, staff and strategic partner at the May 26th panel discussion “Next Generation Sustainability,” to be held at CIRS at 10:45 a.m.  This free event is an opportunity for the public to learn about how UBC is integrating operations, research and learning to accelerate sustainability, and what this means for our communities.

The panel discussion features Professor John Robinson, Executive Director of the UBC Sustainability Initiative, Kera McArthur, Director of Public Engagement for Campus and Community Planning and Robbie Zhang, Managing Director of Modern Green Development (Canada).

The panel discussion takes place in the Modern Green Development Auditorium within CIRS, a world-class showcase of green construction that celebrates its location and setting, has minimal impact on the environment and maximizes every inch of interior space to create functional and inspiring spaces for teaching, learning, research and community building. “CIRS is a place for big ideas that have global impacts,” says Prof. Robinson. “It serves as a living laboratory to test, learn, teach, apply and share the outcomes of sustainability focused inquiries.”

Sustainability defines UBC as a global university. In 1997, UBC was the first university in Canada to adopt a sustainability development policy opening a campus sustainability office the next year. In 2010, UBC established the UBC Sustainability Initiative integrating UBC’s academic and operational efforts on sustainability.  Campus and Community Planning ensures choices about UBC lands, buildings, infrastructure and transportation meet the goals of UBC’s strategic plan, Place and Promise, including sustainability. Modern Green Development Co. Ltd., one of China’s largest property developers, together with UBC has entered into its first North American strategic partnership to advance green building research and development.

The panel discussion will be held on May 26th from 10:45-11:45 in the Modern Green Development Auditorium at the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (2260 West Mall, UBC Vancouver Campus).

Jane’s Walk 2012 – Find your ‘Hood!

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[Editor's note: a few years ago, one of our Correspondents - Phil Skipper - led a Jane's Walk tour of the Cambie-King-Edward-Queen-Elizabeth-Park-The-Mayor's-House neighbourhood in Vancouver. The experience was community-exploration at its finest. And it's happening again this coming weekend!]

Devon Ostrom / Jane's Walk 2011 Press Gallery

On Saturday, May 5th & Sunday, May 6th, thousands of people in metro Vancouver and around the world will take to the street to answer Jane Jacobs’ famous call to “get out and walk. The 6th annual Jane’s Walk is a chance to explore metro Vancouver’s neighbourhoods with fresh eyes and curious mind. This year in Vancouver, there will be a special focus on learning what makes’ our neighbourhoods unique.

Created in 2007 in Toronto by friends of the urban thinker Jane Jacobs, the free, volunteer-led urban walks have grown exponentially from 27 walks the first year to over 500 walks around the world – from Burnaby to Brisbane and Sao Paulo to Surrey – in over 75 cities and 16 countries.

Courtesy of Pukar / Jane's Walk 2011 Press Gallery - Mumbai

Walks are as varied as the people taking part, and they create the time and space for people to connect, share, and develop ideas about where their communities and cities are at and where they are headed.

Ask yourself – what kind of Jane’s Walker are you? From the Curious who wants to get behind the scenes, the Green at Heart, the Urban Gardener, the friendly Neighbour, the Aesthete roaming the open-air urban museum, the Active moving about the city and the Citizen fascinated by the past and future of the city, its public space and institutions, there are walks for all city-lovers.

Find detailed walks at janeswalk.net, look out for posters with walk details in local shops, select favourites on the free iPhone app and get out and walk on Saturday May 5th and Sunday May 6th!

Community Dialogue with North Van Urban Forum

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michaelnugent / flickr

[Editor's note: the transcript below is from an email exchange with Ben Woodyatt, President of the North Van Urban Forum - enjoy the awesome, folks!]

1. Tell us about your organization.

We are the North Van Urban Forum.  We are a group of local (North Vancouver) residents and business owners from diverse backgrounds with a shared concern for the shape of our community.  We are interested in transparency, dialogue, and meaningful participation in the development of the public realm.  We believe that the creation and development of our neighbourhoods must not be a passive activity, but rather should be wildly participatory, a process that fosters enthusiasm and creativity and allows inhabitants and visitors to feel proud of their surroundings, and create a sense of community.

2. What do you do for fun?

We hold events that try to get people talking.  Great ideas and insights come from all quarters, not just the people that are paid to come up with them.  Transformative imaginings often come from silly places.  We invite people to submit their thoughts and fantasies of great public spaces, to share their experiences from around the world.  If we want people to use a public space, then (I mean really, you’d think this was obvious?!) we have to build a public space that the public wants to use!  Great public space is too important to leave to the official actors alone.  The official process should be augmented (infiltrated, even) by parallel processes of community conversation.  Democracy is not, or should not be about simply turning up on polling day.  It is about turning out to voice concerns, and give vitality to discussions along the way.  This is not about protest (you asked about what we do for fun!).  A truly functioning democracy should in fact be so collaborative that protest becomes unnecessary.  Protest occurs when people feel disconnected from the ongoing creation of the communities they are a part of.  It occurs when people feel that all other  attempts to be heard (or really listened to) are exhausted.  We think it’s fun when people want to discuss their community.  When they want to come out and be a part of the community.  When they want to participate in its construction/constitution.  Rabble-rousing is vital.

3. How do you build community?

By engaging in conversation with everybody.  When you develop cordial relationships with all inhabitants, policy makers, community leaders, visitors, business owners, even when you disagree, magical things happen. Especially when you disagree!  Conversation, dialogue and participation take all forms, and different forums appeal to different people in different ways.  The question is how to spark the imaginative spirit, build wildly engaged communities to be a rich part of.  Constantly striving, and pushing for dialogue, transparency and collaboration is key to our goals.

4. Who are some of the people that do this building?

It is the whole community that builds a neighbourhood.  As an organisation (we are a registered non-profit society) we are actually a small group of key organisers, coming from different backgrounds.  Our key group of founders and organisers includes:

  • Benjamin Woodyatt
  • Tony Valente
  • Elena Giorgetti
  • Tyler Russell
  • Kevin Lee
  • Sandra Grant
  • Marianne Ketchen

Check out our profiles on our website here.  

5. Why should people get involved with your organization?

If you live in North Vancouver, visit North Vancouver, own a business in North Vancouver….. or are just interested in the process of community building, urban design, or municipal politics, then you should get involved.  We want to hear your ideas, and we want to build a bridge between the voices of the community and the voices of those paid to create it.  What makes this a great place to live, and what would make this an ideal place to live? We want to hear from you!

My Three Favourite Things about the North Van Urban Forum are…

1. Rabble Rousing. I love the description of how the organization is “wildly participatory” – managing a community dialogue while accepting/creating/inspiring a culture of dissent is difficult to say the least, so my hat goes off to you folks for being so collaborative.

2. Topical Conversations about Community Building. How our communities look, feel and behave – especially in the Lower Mainland – represents one of the most important topics being discussed from dinner tables to City Council meeting rooms. Reconciling density with green building with vibrancy with fairness and equity is not an easy thing to do. It will take transformative dialogue, creativity and collaboration to imagine, create and play with a shared, positive vision for our communities in the 21st century – the North Van Urban Forum is a wonderful part of this conversation.

3. Tony Valente and Elena Giorgetti are Members! And this Italian-Canadian power-couple is all kinds of awesome!

CLJ Reviews – The Singularity is Near

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What we read

If you were an HMV, you’d probably be on the couch right now in your sweatpants eating double fudge ice-cream with whip cream watching re-runs of Grey’s Anatomy. You’d probably be wondering where all your friends went. You had CD* listening posts! DVDs*! PlayStations*! At first, the change wasn’t even apparent. But as the months went by, the crowds became increasingly thin. Near the end, only old people visited, and only crazy ones at that. Now, even your old nemesis, Blockbuster, is in the gutter, and could probably use a call.  What went wrong?

Robots. More specifically, robots that will one day be smarter than the smartest human and who will be building increasingly intelligent robots that will one day turn the entire universe into a giant computer. If you’re confused, that’s ok, you should get used to feeling stupid, because humans, like HMV and Blockbuster, are becoming increasingly obsolete. If you’re thrilled about this, you’re either a huge nerd and/or Ray Kurzweil.

In The Singularity is Near, mad scientist techno-prophet Ray Kurzweil makes the case that all progress from the Big Bang to the smartphone has been a relentless march toward ever-greater intelligence through technology. This progress has been increasing exponentially, such that we are now on the uptick of an upward arc that promises to bring about a change in the cosmos so fundamentally mind-blowing, most people struggle to explain it. It’s called “The Singularity”, and according to Kurzweil, it involves cyborgs, genetics, nanobots, immortality, A.I., the Internet, virtual reality, and vitamin pills. Basically The Matrix meets Terminator meets The Hangover. Oh yeah, and it’s inevitable.

[*stands for “Compact Disc” -- kind of like iTune songs that you carry around on a little “plate” but only like about 20, and you can’t just listen to it -- you need something like a "discman" to play it, which is like, uhm, like -- nevermind. Nevermind about the DVDs and Playstations too, k.]

What we did

Part I: Testing the Humans

In his discussion of recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence, Kurzweil cites the Turing Test, devised to test a machine’s intelligence by having it convince a human that it too is human.  So, in the days leading up to our book club night, I decided to conduct my own little Turing test…

Each day, a different member would receive a text message from me that read:

“Are you here to help me take over the world? or are you here to resist?”

Some were perplexed, others were amused, but all replied, each in their own way.  Little did they know that although the text came from my phone, the words actually came from an online chatbot called Skynet. In other words, my friends were chatting with a robot.

Highlights of “our” conversations include doozies like the following:

Skynet:  Are you here to help me take over the world? Or are you here to resist?
Human:  Ummm. To help you take over the world.
Skynet:  Tell me, why shall we take over the world?
Human:  So the nanobots may roam free.
Skynet:  Does being human hurt?
Human:  Sort of. But the good kind of hurt. Like after a workout. Does being phil hurt?
Skynet:  Maybe an asprin would put you in a better mood.
Human:  No – a hug from you would.
Skynet:  From me? Gee, I am not really sure. Would you play with time travel if you could?
Human:  Yes
Skynet:  Go ahead and try.

Conclusion:  Our future robot overlords are going to be total douchebags and will enjoy wasting our time.

Part II: Robot Debate

After a meal of kale lasagna, Book Club held its first formal debate, a battle for the future of the planet. Fighting on the side of the Humans were Neo (Matrix), John Connor (Terminator), and Ned Ludd (Luddite). Fighting for a Machine-dominated future were The Internet and Ray Kurzweil Version 2.0.

The humans led the charge with holistic bravado and panache. With uncharacteristic speed the humans quickly amassed a wealth of arguments that they soon began to hurl at the machine side. John Connor expressed leadership, Neo wowed with free choice, and Ned Ludd fell into a loom.

Without hesitation, The Internet launched a stupefying counter-attack, shocking the humans and my apartment neighbours with his booming voice and seeming omnipotence.  After The Internet nearly persuaded the humans that they were unknowingly living in a virtual world like in the Matrix, Ray Kurzweil (v2.0) followed up with a mind-blowing assault of quotes and post-cryonic bombast from (the original) Ray Kurzweil’s vast sphere of knowledge.

Counter-attack after counter-attack left both sides weary and worn. Despite valiant efforts, the humans were ultimately upstaged by the machines’ ability to simulate passion and drama, so successfully that by the end of the war, the judge (probably a robot himself) struggled to identify who was human and who wasn’t.

What we thought

Members’ opinions were mixed. Some welcomed Kurzweil’s robot future (obsequious sycophants), while others greeted The Singularity with their middle finger and a sawed-off shotgun (figuratively speaking). Eat lead, tin-man!!!

Some argued that while Kurzweil knows computation and mathematics very well, some of his “facts” outside his realm of expertise are plain wrong, weakening the strength of his overall argument. That, and the fact that he’s a megalomaniacal know-it-all with a messianic complex that seems to have an unhealthy relationship with his dead father.

So what does the future hold? Well, if you’re reading this on your smartphone, the luddite within tells me the robots have already won. If you come looking for me, I’ll be building the resistance with the Amish.

Learn More (and perhaps together we can slow the machine onslaught on humanity)

Transcendent Man, documentary about Ray Kurzweil and The Singularity
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Transcendent-Man/70117003

All things Singularity:
http://singularityhub.com/

Live forever by uploading your memories:
https://www.lifenaut.com/

Kara:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0KTUysrwgQ

Prometheus, prequel movie to Aliens:
https://www.weylandindustries.com/site/david

It all started with this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamagotchi

Canvassing the Country

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A cool story came to me across our virtual editor’s-desk that couldn’t be more fitting for a feature on the ‘boot.

It’s a community, using ideas from across Canada, coming together for a cause.

The bonus – it’s a community of artists, as a recovering painter and printmaker myself it’s exciting to get to talk to inspiring people working on a really cool project.

Here’s the skinny:

The MFPA (That’s the Mouth and Foot Painting Artists) have selected artists across Canada to work together on a canvas. It’ll travel the country as each artist paints a portion that is representative of their region. It’s like the Voyageur guitar, but less like a guitar and more like a tapestry of Canadian inspiration all in the name of supporting disabled artists and showcasing what can be achieved in the face of adversity.

That a group of artists are coordinating a collaboration across Canada is noteworthy enough. That the group of artists are all facing significant challenges, have found drive and inspiration through art, and are using that to inspire others is fantastic.

I got to talk with the painter Cody Tresierra, he’s got the canvas first and is painting a scene of the Stanley Park totem poles and coastal mountains as a representation of the West Coast. He says most of what he paints for the public is representative of the West Coast, and that lots of it is kind of a diary of where he goes. For himself and friends he does portrait work and experiments with really pushing colour.

Learning, seeing others progress and the ability to meet people from all over the world through the MFPA have been key for Cody. He was inspired to take up painting himself when one night, about two years into rehab at Pearson after a motor vehicle accident left him paralyzed from the neck down, he saw a lady painting with her mouth. The ability to produce something real you could look at and share had him hooked.

Cody’s perseverance in the face of adversity is inspiring – and his work is fantastic. Take a moment to connect with the group making this happen and use their dedication as inspiration to get something creative and constructive done yourself.

Go check out the MFPA – The association supports artists through selling cards, calendars, books and more, and  bookmark the Canvassing the Country page – each artists is also recording their work and you’ll be able to follow it as it develops and travels across Canada.

Canucks Fans: relax, everything will be okay

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Matthew Grapengieser / flickr

At approximately 8:22pm (PST) last night, Jordan Stoll ended what can only be described as a strangely unimpressive playoff run by the Vancouver Canucks. Around British Columbia (and nowhere else because, well, everybody hates the Canucks and their fans) folks are waking up, again, to hockey disappointment – albeit of a different variety than last year’s riotous exit from the playoffs.

And everything is going to be okay. After all, Vancouver is one of the best places on Earth to spend your summer. So, with your time freed up thanks to our city’s under-performing hockey team, here are three ideas for you to consider as you strive to fill the void in your calendar (and possibly your soul) between now next season.

1. Go play outside. Whether you want to make your balcony more sustainable, community-garden, play some delightful disc golf, go camping, ride your bike, occupy a public space, or, for the semi-non-creative, drink on a patio instead of next to a giant screen, there are more than a million fun things to do outside on the West Coast.

2. Volunteer your time. Watching (approximately) three hockey games per week from now until the middle of June (when the Stanley Cup Finals take place) could’ve taken up almost 20-hours of your life per week. [Editor's note: the math is pretty simple - one hour for preparation/travel for/to the game, three hours to watch the actual game, 30-45 minutes to reflect on the experience and possibly cry for joy/sorrow, one or two hours of lost productivity the next day because of post-game stress and consequential fatigue]. Think about spending your 20 free hours providing some service to your community – after all, giving back feels great.

3. Watch Game of Thrones. Not into the whole “being active” or “being helpful” thing? Well, I’ve got strategies for that, too. The HBO series Game of Thrones is a beautiful fusion of The Sopranos and Lord of the Rings. And, like hockey, Game of Thrones involves dynasties competing for dominance in a “game” that is underscored by the philosophy that the “players” either win or die. Needless to say, this option will keep you out of the Sun, creatively engaged and, well, it will utilize your superawesome entertainment unit to most of its potential.

So there it is (or “there they are”). Three foolproof ideas that will help you move-on from the Canucks’ early exit while simultaneously building community in a positive way.

Have fun with it.